Lightning displays a combination of power and heat that can cause serious damage if it strikes you.. . |
Lightning
Strikes
What a Lightning Strike Does to Your Body
Lightning displays a combination of power
and heat that can cause serious damage if it strikes you.
by Regina Bailey
Lightning strikes are
wondrous sites to see, but they can also be deadly.
With a power of 300
kilovolts, lightning can heat the air up to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
This combination of power and
heat can cause serious damage to the human body.
Being struck by lightning may
lead to burns, rupturing of the eardrum, eye damage, cardiac arrest, and
respiratory arrest.
While about 10 percent of
lighting strike victims are killed, many of the 90 percent that survives are
left with lasting complications.
5
Ways Lightning Can Strike You
Lightning
is a result of the build-up of electrostatic charge in clouds.
The top of the cloud
typically becomes positively charged and the bottom of the cloud becomes
negatively charged.
As the separation of charges
increases, the negative charges may jump toward the positive charges in the
cloud or toward positive ions in the ground.
When this happens, a
lightning strike occurs.
There are typically five ways
in which lightning may strike a person.
Any type of lightning strike
should be taken seriously and medical attention should be sought if a person is
thought to have been struck by lightning.
1. Direct Strike
Of the five ways in which lightning can strike individuals, a direct strike is the least common. In a direct strike, the lightning current moves directly through the body.
Of the five ways in which lightning can strike individuals, a direct strike is the least common. In a direct strike, the lightning current moves directly through the body.
This
type of strike is the most deadly because part of the current moves over the
skin, while other portions typically move through the cardiovascular system and
nervous system.
The
heat generated by the lightning causes burns on the skin and the current can
damage vital organs such as the heart and brain.
2. Side Flash
This type of strike occurs when lightning contacts a nearby object and part of the current jumps from the object to a person.
This type of strike occurs when lightning contacts a nearby object and part of the current jumps from the object to a person.
The
person is typically in close proximity to the object that has been struck,
about one to two feet away.
This
type of strike often occurs when a person is seeking shelter under tall
objects, such as a tree.
3. Ground Current
This type of strike occurs when lightning strikes an object, like a tree, and part of the current travels along the ground and strikes a person.
This type of strike occurs when lightning strikes an object, like a tree, and part of the current travels along the ground and strikes a person.
Ground
current strikes cause the most lightning strike-related deaths and injuries.
As
the current comes in contact with a person, it enters the body at a point
closest to the current and exits at a contact point farthest away from the
lightning.
As
the current travels through the body, it can cause extensive damage to the
body's cardiovascular and nervous systems.
Ground
current may travel through any type of conductive material, including garage
floors.
4. Conduction
Conduction lightning strikes occur when lightning travels through conductive objects, like metal wires or plumbing, to strike a person.
Conduction lightning strikes occur when lightning travels through conductive objects, like metal wires or plumbing, to strike a person.
Although
metal does not attract lightning, it is a good conductor of electrical current.
Most indoor lightning strikes occur as a result of conduction.
People
should stay away from conductive objects, such as windows, doors, and objects
connected to electrical outlets during storms.
5. Streamers
Before a lightning current forms, the negatively charged particles at the bottom of a cloud are attracted to the positively charged ground and positive streamers in particular.
Before a lightning current forms, the negatively charged particles at the bottom of a cloud are attracted to the positively charged ground and positive streamers in particular.
Positive streamers are positive
ions that extend upward from the ground.
The
negatively charged ions, also called step leaders, create an electric field as they move
toward the ground.
When
the positive streamers extend toward the negative ions and make contact with a
step leader, lightning strikes.
Once
a lightning strike has occurred, other streamers in the area discharge.
Streamers
can extend from things such as the ground surface, a tree, or a person.
If a
person is involved as one of the streamers that discharge after a lightning
strike has occurred, that individual could be seriously injured or killed.
Streamer
strikes are not as common as the other types of strikes.
Consequences
of Being Struck By Lightning
The
consequences resulting from a lightning strike vary and depend on the type of
strike and the amount of current traveling through the body.
·
Lightning can cause burns to the skin, deep wounds, and tissue damage.
The electrical current can also cause a type of scaring known as Lichtenberg
figures (branching electric discharges). This type of scaring is
characterized by unusual fractal patterns that develop as a result of blood
vessel destruction that happens as the lightning current travels through
the body.
·
Cardiac arrest can occur as a lightning strike can cause the
heart to stop. It may also cause arrhythmias and pulmonary edema (fluid
accumulation in the lungs).
·
Lightning strikes may cause a number of neurological conditions
and brain damage damage. A person may slip into a coma, experience pain
and numbness or weakness in limbs, suffer from spinal cord injuries, or
develop sleep and memory disorders.
·
A lightning strike may cause damage to the ear and hearing
loss. It may also cause vertigo, corneal damage, and blindness.
·
The sheer force of being hit by a lightning strike can cause
clothing and shoes to be blown off, singed, or shredded. This type of trauma
can also cause internal bleeding and can sometimes result in broken bones.
The proper response to
lightning and storms is to seek shelter quickly.
Stay away from doors,
windows, electrical equipment, sinks, and faucets.
If you get caught outside, do
not seek shelter under a tree or rocky overhang.
Stay away from wires or
objects that conduct electricity and keep moving until you find safe shelter.
Regina L.
Bailey is a science educator who specializes in
making science accessible and understandable.
EXPERIENCE
Regina is
active in the development of biology and science related content for a Web
content development firm. She has written the forward for a book from the well
known Complete Idiot's Guide series: The Complete
Idiot's Guide to Understanding Cloning.Regina has also been quoted on the
back cover of the children's book My First Book About DNA.
EDUCATION
Regina holds
a bachelor's degree in biology from Emory University, in Atlanta, Ga.
REGINA BAILEY
My goal is to
make biology meaningful and fun, and to provide you with fresh, up-to-date
information that will make you wonder why all of those science courses were so
boring.
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